NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Helsley is having one heck of a time adjusting to his new role in the big city.
And he's hearing it from New York fans, too.
Acquired by the Mets in a late July trade to give them a lights-out tandem at the back of the bullpen, Helsley endured his latest meltdown Tuesday night when he coughed up a two-run lead in the eighth inning against rival Philadelphia.
The struggling reliever issued a one-out walk to Nick Castellanos and then served up a two-run homer to former St. Louis teammate Harrison Bader that tied the score at 5. After a walk to pinch-hitter Bryson Stott, the right-hander was booed off the Citi Field mound by a crowd of 41,914.
All-Star closer Edwin Díaz rescued Helsley by retiring the next five Phillies batters — four on strikeouts. New York recovered to win 6-5 on Brandon Nimmo's game-ending RBI single in the ninth, but Helsley's troubles are a major concern as the Mets fight for a playoff spot with 30 games remaining this season.
“I’ve been through that,” Díaz said. “My advice to him is just play with your head up. We trust him. We know what (kind of) pitcher he is. He’s one of the best closers in the game. He’s going through some bad moments right now but we trust in him.”
A two-time All-Star closer for the Cardinals, Helsley has completely flopped as Díaz's setup man with the Mets. He is 0-3 with a 10.38 ERA and four blown saves in 11 appearances since coming over from St. Louis in exchange for three minor leaguers on July 30. He has given up 14 runs (10 earned), 13 hits and seven walks in 8 2/3 innings.
Those numbers are difficult to fathom, considering Helsley normally pairs his 100 mph fastball with a sharp slider. But he's hung his breaking ball too often since arriving in New York, and opposing hitters have made him pay.
Mets manager Carlos Mendoza intimated Helsley could be tipping his pitches.
“We’ve just got to get Helsley right. Too good of stuff for them to be taking some really good swings on fastballs, really good takes on the sliders. So we’ve got to look back and see what we’re missing," Mendoza said. “Because for those teams to have comfortable at-bats like that, something’s going on there and we have to figure it out.”
The 31-year-old Helsley, born in Oklahoma, enters games to “Hells Bells” by AC/DC and can become a free agent after the World Series. He was 3-1 with a 3.00 ERA and 21 saves in 36 outings with the Cardinals this season, racking up 41 strikeouts in 36 innings.
That after he led the majors with 49 saves last year, when he finished 7-4 with a 2.04 ERA and won the Trevor Hoffman National League Reliever of the Year Award.
But since joining the Mets, he's been a mess on the mound.
“There's an adjustment period coming to a new team," Mets president of baseball operations David Stearns said before Tuesday's game.
"We're asking him to take on a new role. That's certainly been well documented. When you don't have results immediately, it's natural to press a little bit, and what we're trying to do is help him exhale a little bit, take a deep breath. The stuff is still there. He's been good in this league for a long time, he's going to be good again.”
AP freelance reporter Jerry Beach contributed.
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New York Mets pitcher Ryan Helsley walks to the dugout during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — President Donald Trump on Thursday threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act and deploy troops to quell persistent protests against the federal officers sent to Minneapolis to enforce his administration's massive immigration crackdown.
The president's threat comes a day after a federal immigration officer shot and wounded a Minneapolis man who had attacked the officer with a shovel and broom handle. That shooting further heightened the fear and anger radiating across the Minnesota city since an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent fatally shot a Renee Good in the head.
Trump has repeatedly threatened to invoke the rarely used federal law to deploy the U.S. military or federalize the National Guard for domestic law enforcement, over the objections of state governors.
“If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don’t obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of I.C.E., who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT, which many Presidents have done before me, and quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great State,” Trump said in social media post.
The Associated Press has reached out to the offices of Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey for comment.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. ICE is a DHS agency.
In Minneapolis, smoke filled the streets Wednesday night near the site of the latest shooting as federal officers wearing gas masks and helmets fired tear gas into a small crowd. Protesters responded by throwing rocks and shooting fireworks.
Police Chief Brian O’Hara said during a news conference that the gathering was an unlawful assembly and “people need to leave.”
Things later quietened down and by early Thursday only a few demonstrators and law enforcement officers remained at the scene.
Demonstrations have become common on the streets of Minneapolis since the ICE agent fatally shot 37-year-old Good on Jan. 7. Agents have yanked people from their cars and homes, and have been confronted by angry bystanders demanding that the officers pack up and leave.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey described the situation as not “sustainable.”
“This is an impossible situation that our city is presently being put in and at the same time we are trying to find a way forward to keep people safe, to protect our neighbors, to maintain order,” he said.
Frey said the federal force — five times the size of the city’s 600-officer police force — has “invaded” Minneapolis, scaring and angering residents.
In a statement describing the events that led to Wednesday's shooting, Homeland Security said federal law enforcement officers stopped a driver from Venezuela who is in the U.S. illegally. The person drove away and crashed into a parked car before taking off on foot, DHS said.
After officers reached the person, two other people arrived from a nearby apartment and all three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said.
The two people who came out of the apartment are in custody, it said.
O’Hara said the man shot was in the hospital with a non-life-threatening injury.
The shooting took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) north of where Good was killed. O’Hara's account of what happened largely echoed that of Homeland Security.
During a speech before the latest shooting, Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what's happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement,” he said. “Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.
Good was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.
Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been criticized by Minnesota officials.
Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment.
Good’s family has hired the same law firm that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.
Madhani reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego; Rebecca Santana in Washington; Ed White in Detroit and Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis contributed.
A protester yells in front of law enforcement after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Tear gas surrounds federal law enforcement officers as they leave a scene after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters shout at law enforcement officers after a shooting on Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
